The In Between of Adult and Child
by Hikarifanfics
Summary: There was something she wanted. But, this something was something she would have to wait for, or so she thought. How long will it take one adult man to realize the girl isn't just a child anymore?
1. Chapter 1: I'm Not a Kid

The tree branch broke as the girl, running full speed ahead with a bag in her hand, pushed past. The forest's tranquil quiet broken by her running footsteps and pants for breath as the race of time continued, ending none no when.

Running, running, and more running. She didn't think she ever ran this much in her whole life, not even with Ace, and that was saying something. The man, Julius Monrey, just had to go and forget the whole bag of stupid clocks, forcing her to go and run to the other side of Wonderland just to deliver them to him. When he was done, she was sure to teach him a lesson he'd never forget.

He could have sent Ace or even … someone else to get them! But, no. He just had to go and have Alice go and run all the way to the other side of Wonderland to deliver the clocks. It was a bunch of crap! Her legs hurt, her feet were tried. All she wanted to do was to just stop and rest for a bit. Would he be mad if she was a little late? He didn't say right away... so maybe she could get away with it.

She took in a long breath of the damp forest air. The wind blew slightly, blowing her hair along with it. It was calming like this. In fact, it made her want to just rest for a bit.

Before she could stop herself, she was already leaning against a tree, eyes closed, drifting into sleep.

.

A large hand pushed the branches out of the way. Strangely though, some of the branches were already out of the way. And from the looks of it, it looked like they were broken off.

The man sighed. It was either Alice or someone after his life, but at a lousy attempt, if he could say so himself. Though, as to why Alice would be out this late at night, where even he had troubles seeing, was beyond his comprehension. The only other option was amateur assassins again.

So, he kept walking. However, the further he walked, the more jagged and broken the branches got. But, he kept walking. And, much to his surprise, as he stepped out of the dense forest of branches he found a sleeping Alice.

A smile came face as a slight hint of laughter escaped it. What was she doing? Napping in this kind of place. Really, she had no self-awareness at all. He bent down to the side of the girl, gently stroking her cheek. "Alice, are you done sleeping yet?"

Her face wrinkled, making it look like she was in deep though. "Mm … the clocks aren't important … Ace can..Mm"

His eyebrows raised as she mumbled his name in her sleep. _I could what?_ he wondered. Well, it wasn't like it really mattered. "Alice, it's time to wake up," he tried again.

Her faced turned sour.

What was she dreaming about. "Ali–"

_Bam! _

Her eyes shot open. She quickly pulled her hand over, rubbing it hurt hand gently. "What did I.." She looked over to her side to find the knight bent down by her, a large, red hand mark across his face.

"You're finally up?" he asked in a flat voice, no emotion detected.

She was a smart girl. Piecing two and two together was simple. Her hand hurt, Ace's face had a hand print on it. It could only mean that she... "I—I slapped you, right? I'm so sorry, Ace!"

The knight's face remained the same as it had before, then it loosened up into a smile. "I'm fine but,"-he pointed to the bag at her side-"what's that?"

Alice started to laugh, but then her face and body stiffened. The clocks. She'd been sleeping for so long she forgot. Julius was gonna kill her!

She quickly jumped up, the knight leaning back a bit so as to not get hit. "The clocks!" she cried.

"Clocks?"

"Julius wanted me to deliver clocks to him, and I completely forgot and worst of all, I even dozed off!" she cried, the beginnings of panic starting to show over the fear on her face.

"Why would Julius ask you? I could have gotten them or even the after images, if they're just clocks – it's their jobs." He tilted his head. It didn't make any sense as to why he would send her. "Why would he send a kid like you?" he mumbled, unaware of what he was saying.

"K-kid? Who's a kid?" she barked.

"Huh? You. There's no other kids around here, except for the twins, but they're not here."

Her eyes narrowed down on him. "I'm not a kid! I'm a young adult!"


	2. Chapter 2: Clocks

She slumped against the white brick building in the early hours of the morning, when the dew was still fresh on the ground and the air still moist and cold. There was no way Julius was not going to be mad. And what was her excuse? She fell asleep in the forest? Some excuse that was!

Ace laughed, walking up to the girl and placing his hand on her shoulder. "He won't be mad at you. Even if he is, I'll take the blame and say I got you lost, even if that's not what happened," he reassured her. It was rare to see Alice panic, and he found himself enjoying it very much.

"That's inexcusable! I couldn't get you into trouble for something you didn't do! It was my fault for falling asleep in the forest in the first place, so I'll take the rightful blame." Though, Julius was scary when he was mad. She shivered. Maybe having Ace take the blame was the right choice, after all.

"Inexcusable?" he laughed. "Well, if you insist then there's nothing that can be done. Have fun with that. Julius' wrath, that is."

Alice moaned. That sure as heck didn't make her feel any better. But, she had to do what she had to do. Julius was waiting for this delivery of clocks that she had. "Y-you're coming, right?"

"I also have to talk to Julius for awhile."

She breathed in. Having Ace with her would help. To be honest, she was a bit scared of what Julius would say. All the more, she knew that she had to go and tell him the truth. Julius would understand, he always did.

"You really like Julius, don't you?"

"Sure I do." She laughed. "Julius was the first person I met when I came here, and I happen to trust him a lot, since we have been through a lot together. Besides that, it'd be kind of weird not to trust the person you're living with."

"We've been through a lot, too." His voice was soft, but somewhat amused by what he was saying. To the girl, it almost sounded like he was pouting. But, that wasn't Ace, right? "Let's go."

Alice nodded.

But, before they made it int the door, Julius burst through them. He was panting and his face was red from running, some sweat dripping down from it. "Alice..." He had jolted downstairs the moment he saw her figure standing outside the building. It was natural instinct that took over common sense, but she had brought onto herself for worrying the man half to death. Julius took on step forward and outstretched his hands and pulled her into his chest. "Thank God, you're alright."

Ace laughed, making them both flinch. They had forgotten the man was even there. But, he was there, and while he was there he wouldn't let someone do something so bold to his "precious" Alice in front of him. He smiled. "She was with me, after all. I keep her safe. It's not like she's ever come home have dead or anything, right? A few cuts and scratches are nothing! I get them all the time."

Alice, however, didn't quite like what he was saying. Her eye started to twitch and her face become dark. It was like he was saying, above seeing her as only a child, he doesn't even see her as a _fragile _girl. "I'm a girl, unlike you, Ace. A few cuts and scratches really hurt. And I _have_ come back almost half dead before! If it wasn't for Julius, who knows what would have happened to me by now."

"Hey, Alice, where are the clocks?" Ace lifted his finger and pointed to the girl's hand. There were no clocks.

Her eyes widened. "They were just...I had them."

"I seen you take them when we left too."

She _had _taken them, and it wasn't like her to carelessly misplace something. In fact, she had no time to misplace it, because they never stopped once, at Alice's request, before they got to the place, and even at that, he was standing right next to her the whole time. No one could have stolen it.

"It's fine." Julius sighed. "I think I know what happened to them, and I understand clearly what it means as well. Alice, can you leave? I need to talk to Ace in private."

As much as she wanted to tell him no, she couldn't bring herself to do something like that. Showing Julius that side of her made her uncomfortable. She gripped the sides of her dress and forced a smile on her face. "You two are always talking lately, but I'll head home now. I'll see you when you get back. Bye, Julius, Ace."

"Bye," the mortician mumbled, his eyes looking far away form the girl.

"Bye, Alice. See you soon." Ace waved as Alice took one last glance back. Then she left.

Julius looked over at the knight. "You have the clocks?"

Ace smiled. Julius wasn't all talk. If he figured out this little trick of his, then he knew what it meant too. He rummaged through his red coat and pulled out a light brown bag, that jingled with every move he made. Ace held it straight out in front of him with a large smile on his face. "Good job. You understand what it means, right?"

The back of clocks were snatched from the knight's hands. Julius opened the bag very carefully and counted each clock very quickly, before closing the bag and looking up at him. "I know what it means, and I don't know if I can agree to that."

"We'll see."


	3. Chapter 3: How About a Game, Alice?

When Alice woke up the next morning, Julius was no where to be found, and no one at the Amusement Park seemed to respond to her calls. This left her full of worry, even though she knew that Julius was a responsible man. She just had a horrible feeling deep within her.

But, her worry soon diminished a little when she found a small note on the kitchen table addressed to her. It told her not to worry and that he'd be back soon.

She sighed, a frustrated look growing on her face as she held the now crumbled note in her hand. "A whole bunch of good that will do, Julius. Where in the world _are_you?" It was small, but a small prick stung deep in her heart. Even thought he told her not to worry, was it really okay not to?

.

.

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It was a small room, somewhere in a remote area of wonderland Ace had stumbled upon, where to two men gathered to have their talk. He recognized it because it was the large building right next to the amusement park. It wasn't that they didn't trust Alice, it was just that they didn't want her to hear it, or more so, Julius preferred it like this.

Leaning against the wall, his face pressed to the wall to look out into the vast plan that stretched far beyond his reach, that was past the window, brown locks fell over his crimson eyes, that seemed to perceive everything with darker intensity than he let on. "You really spoil her. You should let her see the darker side of the world once in a while, Julius. But, she's still just a kid, right?" He chuckled at the thought.

Julius, who was sitting at a desk fiddling with the clocks Ace had brought back the previous night, took one glance at the man. "Alice is not child. Even if I were to show here that kind of thing, she would still come back to me with a smile, and in the end, I'd be the one that would be hurt the most. Whatever it is that you're planning, Ace, I don't want you to involve Alice."

The man laughed, moving his head off the cold brick wall. "But, you see, I can't do that."

"And why not?"

Ace smiled. This time, a much darker and amused smile than he'd ever shown before. "Because Alice is the main character."

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The young foreigner's eyes batted open. It was hard to conceive what was going on, beside the loud clicking of a clock. But, sure enough, she heard very familiar footsteps coming up the stairs. It was like a lullaby-a soothing melody that made her chest calm down and her mind blank, but grow with anticipation for the moment the door would open.

When the door did open, however, the young foreigner with the bobbing bow atop her head, was sound asleep on the small sofa, which made Ace stop at the door. In contrast to this usual cheerful greeting, this was nothing like it. His face was dark, a smile not seeming to appear for a long while; his eyes, his crimson eyes that seemed to captivate the girl and leave her incapable of looking away, were much darker with a sense of dread. Without a sound, step by step he took, he was able to make his way to the girl's side. The knight placed his hand on her silky hair golden-brown hair. "Alice," he mumbled, looking down at the sleeping girl's face, that only seemed to decrease the age at which she really was.

He was someone who shouldn't be associated with, and she knew that much. Yet, she was unable to completely brake free of his torments and bullying of her, like a small wire that he could pull on a whim to bring her back to him whenever he felt like it.

.

.

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"Good afternoon, Alice."

Alice blinked. Above her, the only thing she was able to see was the smiling face of the knight of hearts and the vast fathomless sky of that seemed to compeer even her own blue eyes. Her eyes dilated and her cheeks flushed a bright red. "Ace?" She tried to jolt up, but was pushed back down to the man's legs.

His smile had faded and his eyes became filled with a fearsome darkness that seemed almost familiar to the girl these days. And yet, different from the beginning, it seemed it intrigue her instead of scare her, though, she knew that a part of her was still scared at him when he was like that. The knight of hearts was an unpredictable man, a skilled swordsman, a mystery. And his smile that seemed to relieve her at points, was all a mask, something she was well aware of.

"So then, Alice, how about you play a game with me?"

She paused for a moment before replying. "I don't need two games going at once, Ace. After all, this is just a dream, a 'game,' per say. So thanks, but no thanks. I'll pass on this one. Sorry, Ace."

The man smiled. Indeed as amusing as she was, the most interesting part about the foreigner was her logic that she was so proud of. But, that logic would soon prove to be futile. If she thought she could end it with something like "I'm sorry," then she was wrong. Alice, the little foreigner, needed to be taught the right ways of the other game she had gotten herself mixed into.

"Alice," he began, the words slipping out of his mouth, "do you know what I know? It's a secret, though." Ace let the girl sit up. He also got up, but turned around and patted her head once. His lips brushed her ears, his husky voice whispering soft words into it. "Of course, if you really want to find out, you should go ask Mr. Cheshire Cat. I'm sure he'll know."

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"Ace's secret?" Boris looked up from the ground, where he was smelling for the lost sent of fish he had picked up earlier. "I'm not quite sure what you mean, Alice. Well, I mean..." He scratched his cheek, searching through his mind to find some kind of 'secret.' "All the ones I know of him, you all ready know."

Alice sighed, tilting her head and smiling. "Thanks anyways, Boris." She reached her hand out and started to rub his ears. "I still don't know why Ace would say to come to you, though."

"You really shouldn't worry about it, Alice. I'm sure he's just messing with you—" He stopped.

Blood started to drip out of a freshly made wound on the cat's cheek. He turned his head, and there, as if a sign of war hanging right in front of someone's eyes, was a small indent in the tree, the black smoke still rising into the air.

"Hello, Alice, Mr. KittyCat. " Ace stepped out from behind a tree. His brown cloak still stained with blood, the smell oozing out of it as if it had a fan spreading the smell all around. His hand reached for the little silver mask on his face, and with a small pull, it slid right off, and was quickly placed into one of his pockets. "It seems I have some business here today, but unlike with the Hatter, I'll make sure to win.


	4. Chapter 4: Darkness of a Setting Sun

"Alice," his voice echoed throughout the now quiet forest, "this is the world you live in now." The man in the red coat stood high over the injured cat that lye motionless on the dark and damp ground, where mass amount of blood soaked itself into it. The knight himself was even covered from head to toe in blood, a small scratch on his cheek his own. "This is Wonderland, Alice—this dark and cruel place."

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Boris quickly extended his hand out in front of the young foreigner. His eyes narrowed at the man who had just shot him.

"Don't worry," he laughed, "I won't hurt, Alice. She's interesting, so I won't kill her. You, however, Mr. KittyCat, are a completely different story. You are neither necessary to me or interesting." His sword was now firmly in his tight grip, it's fangs already barring, ready for the bloody fight that would lye ahead.

It really didn't matter if he was going to hurt Alice or not, because he knew that even this would hurt her. Boris knew, even if she wasn't aware herself, that she was much closer to the knight than to him. He was sure that if he had asked her she would wave her hand, laughing, and tell him he was much closer to her. But, in this situation, he didn't care, because he was going to stop him—stop him from hurting Alice anymore than he already had.

"Here, Kittykitty," the knave taunted, with a smirk.

The dark side of the world in Wonderland, even he was hesitant in showing Alice this. But, what needed to be done would have to be done. He wouldn't spoil the girl like Julius would.

Ace tightened his grip on his sword, positioning his feet to charge with only the slightest movement. Boris' ears twitched, signaling that he had heard the small movement, forcing the knight to have to make his move sooner than he had anticipated. "I take that back, KittyCat—you _are _quite interesting." He smirked at the roleholder, his blood lust slipping though his barrier, making it even more obvious of the airs he puts on.

Boris took the chance and quickly grabbed for his gun. He grabbed Alice with one hand and used the other to shoot. The bullet flew quickly in the air—turning and spinning as a football would when thrown—straight for the knight.

It took him by surprise that the cat would do something so daring, that it made him able to move for the slightest of seconds. Those seconds, however, made all the difference, because when he went to move his head out of the way, it was only a second too slow. The bullet grazed his cheek. A little blood oozed out of the now open wound.

"Ace!" Alice screamed, pushing Boris' arm off her.

"See? Even now Alice can only think of me because I'm hurt. Nativity like yours is lethal to you here."

The knight charged forward with a smile on his face. His foot landed in front of one of Boris' feet as he tried to back away from the charging man. However, it was too late. As Ace swung his sword, Boris swung his gun. The sword sliced through Boris' skin and stuck itself three inches into his side. Blood splashed out form the sides of the sword where the cut was deeper.

Ace flinched, releasing the grip of his sword and grabbing his arm. He pulled his sleeve up to reveal that now a large black bruise filled his arm where the other roleholder's gun had struck him. The pain felt as if he had broken a bone, but it made him laugh. "What a witty little cat," he chuckled.

Boris clutched his bleeding wound, the blood-stained sword lying beside him. Ace bent down and grabbed his sword, ignoring the pain he felt in his arm. "Don't worry," he began, as he started to rise up, "I didn't kill him. But, Alice, this is Wonderland—a dark and cruel place that you can't change." Without looking back, he, along with his sword, headed west toward the direction of the castle.

Her legs wobbled, then gave way as her body collapsed onto them. "...I know," she whispered, looking terrified at the man lying on the ground, looking as if he was dead from the amount of blood that surrounded him. "I know... I know!"

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Julius put the phone down and sighed. Quietly he walked over to the girl who was sitting on the couch, wrapped fully in a large, white blanket. "He's fine. The wounds appeared bad, but they weren't as severe as we first thought, though he did receive a lot of damage." He stopped and glanced down at the girl—motionless with no sparks of life illuminating her blue-pearl eyes. Without knowing what to say, he looked into the window she was staring into also.

_._

"_**You should let her see the darker side of the world once in a while... But, you see, I can't do that... She's just a kid... **_**_You understand what it means, right?"_**

_._

Julius sighed. He knew what would happen all along, but he didn't try to stop him. Indeed, the foreigner called Alice Liddell was simply just a child, but she was a strong child, able to endure so much. "Come, it's time for bed."

Alice looked over at him. Though her eyes remained emotionless, her voice had returned to normal form the mute status it had taken. "But, Julius, it's still only evening," she protested, pointing to the orange colored sky with light shades of pink and purple clouds. "I'm not a little kid that needs to go to sleep early." She smiled slightly. "I'm fine. It was a shock seeing Boris like that, but I feel like I've been use to this for awhile now. He's safe, so it doesn't really matter anymore."

"No—"

"I'm going to go take a look around outside for a bit." She jumped off the couch and let the blanket slide off of her, putting back on the couch. "See you in a bit, Julius." She waved and ran out the room.

"A—" He stopped himself, knowing better. "Come back safely."

She ran until she reached a flight of stairs—part going down, part going up. She wasn't positive it was him, but she know she had seen a dim shadow cast from above the tower. With a quick breath she began her climb to the top of the tower.

The stairs, without any light, were dark and damp—the girl feeling mold stained into the wall from no one ever using the passageway. Finally, after what seemed like hours and many, many stairs, only a few stairs up from where she was, was a light shining in through cracks in an old wooden door.

Alice pushed the door open, and what she saw left her speechless and in wonder.

Ace sat between two small ridges of the tower wall, his face showing a saddened smile.. The glowing orange sky reflected off his face, and it was then that she realized how young he really looked. The blood-stained cloak made him seem distant, but in this case, she was already use to it. One minute he would be there the next he would be gone.

He looked over at the girl standing mute in the doorway. "Alice isn't scared?" he asked, with a slight unamused chuckle. Just like her, his eyes seemed to be lost somewhere far way.

"No," she replied firmly and without hesitation. "No, Ace, I'm not scared. Rather, I'm the one feeling sorry for you."

He quietly sighed, looking her up and down. "You're... really not a kid." He jumped down off of the small ridges and walked over to the girl.

She puffed her face up in anger. "I told you that I'm not a kid!"

Ace bent down, his hands grabbing both of Alice's arms. His lips brushed her ears, and as he spoke his breaths breathed down her neck. "Say, if Alice isn't a kid, then what is Alice? Because you're not an adult by far."

The foreigner tried to struggle free of his grip, but it was no use.

.

"_**Come back safely." **_

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"Ace, let go of me."

"But you don't want it, do you?"

She starred at him; he was staring at her as well. "I told Julius I would come back safe," she replied.

"What do you think I'm going to do to you?"

The girl paused for a second to think. "Anything if you wanted to."

.

"**And I want Alice."**


	5. Chapter 5: What He Won't Do

"_**I want Alice." **_

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She snapped her eyes open and darted up to a ninety degree angle, her breathing heavy and rough. She looked over at the sky—a morning sun barely rising above the trees. Placing her hand over her heart, she tried to regulate her breathing. That dream, she wished it was just a dream.

After Ace had said that, Julius had come running up the stairs only seconds later. Everything was a little hectic, but she was rushed to bed and wasn't told anything. However, she wasn't sure if she was glad to be saved by the man, or if she wanted him to wait just a bit longer to see what the knight would do.

A knock came from the other side of the door. "Alice? Are you all right? Did you have a nightmare?"

Alice sighed and slumped back in bed. "Yeah, I wish it was."

"Alice?"

Sliding her feet over and down to the ground, she sat up and walked to the door. She opened it just a crack and stuck her head out. 'Hey, Julius," she greeted with a smile. Then it struck her. "Julius, what time do you think it is? How could you have heard me if you were sleeping?" she scolded, throwing open the door.

"Good point, Alice." Ace walked over to Julius and placed his arm around his neck. "Too bad he wasn't sleeping. I came awhile ago to talk to him about something."

.

"_**I want Alice."**_

.

Even though she knew the true shallowness, the truth of his words only a few hours previous she couldn't help but have a slight blush around him anymore. Those shallow words, his clock hear, ad the mask he constantly puts on even thought it's a wasted effort, they were all Ace, and the things that made her helplessly attracted to him.

A distorted sense of normalcy and the difference between right and wrong, wonderland confused and scared her, yet she found it harder and harder to tear herself away from the place and all it's inhabitants, because even thought some of them she hated and some she viewed as very much like family, she knew she really didn't want to leave this place.

"What kind of business would you have here this late at night, Ace?" she asked, not as a question, but as something to take your mid off of things. She didn't want to over think anything, especially not now.

"No business really. Can't we have a conversation without the need for work and business?"

"I'd appreciate if if you didn't answer my questions with questions," she demanded. "And you really don't look like type to me. You really were—"

"Alice," Julius interrupted, "that's enough. We had a conversation without you because it wasn't for you. Go get a glass of milk or something and get back to bed."

Alice lowered her head, her bangs falling over her eyes. "No thank you, I'm fine without it. Goodnight, Julius, Ace." She closed the door quickly before Julius had the time to say something.

Ace laughed. "Alice might hate you now, you know?"

He glared at the man. "I _don't _want to hear that coming from someone I had to stop from attacking Alice only a few hours ago."

"Alice still likes me better, though. She was acting all cute, so I wanted to tease her a little bit. I was serious, but now I've changed my mind."

"What?"

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"**I won't touch Alice anymore." **

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The sudden words took Julius by surprise, so by the time that Ace turned around and began to leave, he could only stand there and watch him until the darkness completely surrounded him and only pitch blackness was left. By that time, he couldn't do anything.

He sighed and scratched his head. "Ace... you woke me up and got me yelled at by Alice just to tell me that?" He sighed again, his hand dropping lifelessly down to his side. After a few seconds of staring into the darkness, he turned around and headed toward his room for the night. "Good night, Alice."

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In the morning, Alice sat on the table with a small steaming glass in her hand. Her eyes never left the doorway as she quietly waited for Julius to get up. She placed the cup on the table and let her head gently fall on it, closing her eyes once it was secure. "It's weird to get up before Julius," she mumbled.

"So you're not mad at me?" Julius stood in the middle of the doorway, his usually tied back hair now hanging loose and long down his back, accompanied by his pajamas.

Alice jerked up at the sound of his voice. "Of course I'm—!" She stopped and lowered her voice. "I-I mean of course I'm not mad at you. I just don't like it when you don't tell me things." Julius looked at her, but didn't reply, which made the room fall silent and the girl feel awkward. "Want some coffee?" she asked quickly.

Julius opened her mouth to try to explain things to her, but the words wouldn't come out. "Sure, put some on my desk." He turned around and hastily paced back to his room.

The foreigner sighed as her fingers touched the cold cup. Ever since Ace came over last night, Julius has been acting weird. So, wouldn't that mean that he'd know why?"

She sighed, this time in aggravation. "The only problem is I don't know where Ace is."

Laughing came from behind Alice. "I'm here, but where's Julius?"

Alice spun around. "Ace!" she shouted happily.

Ace laughed again. "Here's a question for you, Alice—who do you like better, me or Julius?"

She stopped. The question was sudden and took her by surprise. "Better?" she mouthed silently. "The one I like better—"

"Ace! Stop making Alice have to play these silly games of yours!" Julius scolded, walking in now with his regular clothes on.

He smiled. "But doesn't Julius want to know what Alice thinks as well?"

"No. I, unlike you, have no interest in making her choose between two people. You can leave me now, since you have no business here anymore."

She flinched at the words. This was here chance to find out what happened. Ace was a very straight forward person most times. This was her chance, and she wouldn't let her chance slip. "Actually!" she said, her voice louder than usual, "I need to talk to Ace."


	6. Chapter 6: What He Wants

The late night air was dry and hot. Not a sound could be heard coming from anywhere except for the loud thudding of feet as the knight walked up the stairs. Tonight, not as per usual, he was in somewhat of a rush.

He silently creaked the door open and stepped in. The silence continued even there, except for the very soft breathing of the sleeping man as he lay silently asleep on his desk. This, however, didn't last long, for the placed his hands on the desk and his face close to the man's, and whispered, in a bit louder voice. "Wake up, Julius."

The man's eyes darted open as he flung himself up into his chair, the shear impact of his back hitting the chair almost causing him to tip over. Once his chair was back in order, his eyes locked themselves to the man standing in front of him. "You couldn't possibly have finished collecting all those clocks in only a few hours."

Ace laughed. "I didn't even start."

Julius leaned his head against his wrist and pressed his lips together. "I wanted to ask why," he admitted, "but I guess it has something to do with Alice?"

The knight ran his fingers along the edge of the morticians desk, his eyes seeming to be in some distant place far away from where he was. "Alice," he started, his voice cold and malicious, "you said she wasn't a child, but doesn't she act like one? She's so native to this place, thinking she can change everyone here. Doesn't she just want everyone's attention?"

"She isn't—"

"No. Alice is _too _native. She doesn't belong here, does she, Julius?" Ace's had was now firmly pressed against the desk, his smile wide in triumph because he knew he had won the mind game against his friend. "You know you're keeping her here, right?"

Julius stayed quiet. His body reclined back into his chair, arms folded, legs crossed, and his face was completely unreadable—to normal people, that is.

He excelled in reading the slightest movement of people and using it to his advantage in order to survive in dangerous situations. "Indeed, Alice wants to leave," he taunted.

"How would you know what Alice wants?" he asked, his poker face still in tact. With everything that happened with Blood, he wouldn't let Ace mess with him.

Ace stiffened up and darted his body to the hallway where Alice's room was located. "Alice?"

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.

"The sun stood higher in the sky than before, but the air still remained dry and hot. Alice leaned against the cool brick wall, her arms wrapped around her, while the knight stood in front of her, looking up into a window high above her.

He looked down at her after some time. "So, what'd Alice want to talk about?"

Her heartbeat increased, which made her face flush and made her embarrassed to even look at the man in front of her. She could feel his stare that pierced daggers through her. "I... I wanted to know why Julius was acting so weird after you came over last night." She lifted her head up, her eyes filled with a fiery passion. "What did you two talk about that made Julius that weird? Was it something that he'd have to hide it from me?"

Ace neither smiled nor laughed, he just stood there, looking down at the foreigner. "You're too native."

She blinked. She had no idea how that related to anything she asked him. "But Julius—"

He slammed his hand on the wall right next her her head and drew closer to the girl, his other hand gripping the girl's arm. "Julius this, Julius that, is that all you ever talk about?"

Alice's eyes shook in an unseen fear. "A-Ace..."

The knight released his grip on her arm and placed it on her lips, gently rubbing his thumb back and forth. "Not another name," he whispered, entranced with her lips.

"Ace?"  
>He pulled back from her and stood up straight. He turned his head as if looking at something that wasn't there. "He asked me what I know about you. That was all; we just talked about you."<p>

"Why me?" she asked.

Ace laughed. "You really can't tell, Alice? You couldn't see the changes you made in everyone, or how everyone is infatuated with you? Aren't you a sly one, Alice."

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open just the slightest. "I never wanted everyone's attention!" she screamed, flinging her hand until it was straight. "They changed because they decided to, not because I made them!"

He laughed unassumingly. "Alice, you're a smart girl, that much we all know, but you're ignorant to the rules here."

"What's your point?"

Ace extended out his hand and placed his finger on her cheek, slightly caressing it. "I told you before, I want you. But I won't touch you, Alice. I want you to beg for mercy—crying and tattered. But I want you to me mine—mine and only mine."


	7. Chapter 7: Plaything

"**No."**

.

Ace stepped back as Alice's hand came into contact with his own hand. He blinked in complete confusion at the girl's unusual behavior that he hadn't expected.

The young girl had an agitated look on her face as she glared at the ground. But the knight seen a small girl trying too hard to hold back her tears.

"You're only interest in me is the fact that I'm a foreigner. If it were someone else, you'd still feel the same way so..." She bit the inside of her mouth and took a deep breath so her voice wouldn't shake. "Besides," she continued, "I can't leave my sister alone."  
>He stared at her with unrelenting eyes that she couldn't bring herself to look at. However, it amused the man at how the girl's emotions would show on her face but she'd still try to act strong. It amused him, so he wanted to crush it.<p>

.

"**Alice, maybe you're right."**

.

Her eyes grew into two large turquoise disks. The man's words hit her hard. Very hard. But she wouldn't admit it. She didn't need to be attached to this world, this "dream of her's."

"That's fine," she choked out, "I'm leaving, so it doesn't really matter."

Ace lowered his eyes, dissatisfaction in the girl's response. It didn't amuse him in the slightest. He chuckled and placed his hand on the wall next to her head and leaned in. "Then, goodbye, Alice." He pushed back and turned around to head to the castle where Vivaldi was waiting for him.

Alice's heart tightened, her head flinging up. Why did she have to do something like that? "...wait..." Her voice was horse and nothing but a small squeak came out of her mouth, so all she could do was watch the man until she couldn't see him anymore as she held back her tears.

She wouldn't cry.

But the words hurt.

He hurt her the most.

She clenched her hands and inhaled. "Ace! Wait!" she screamed as loud as she could.

The man's laugh echoed throughout the area. "Alice," came his voice from inside the forest, "such a big mouth."

.

.

.

Days passed and not a word came from Ace. She wondered how he was able to deliver clocks to Julius because she was with him almost always. If I stay by Julius, she thought, then maybe I'll see Ace. Of course, the Knight knew the girl too well to be able to be tricked by such innocent thinking. He was avoiding her. He liked how she squirmed for his attention and enjoyed every minute of the torture the girl was going through. Ace would show himself eventually, but now was not the time.

Alice sat in the Mortician's Clock Tower, her hands placed, one on top of the other, on her legs while she sat properly up with excellent posture. Her eyes would go from watching Julius to slowly crawling over to the door where she would let out a long sigh, sometimes in sadness and others in frustration, before she would watch the Mortician again.

Julius noticed the small pattern the girl was showing, for he, too, was watching—watching the girl as her eyes would go from each side of the room, never really staring at one thing in particular. He could see the slightest blue bags under her eyes from her staying up with him into very late at night and getting up very early; he could see the waver in them—the story they told regardless of how much the girl would lie about how she felt, of course, it was never intentionally, he knew, for it was only so he wouldn't worry. However, worry was all that he felt toward her, every second, minute, and hour of the day when she was away from him would he feel this. Julius sighed and placed the clock he was examining down, taking his glasses off and leaning the slightest bit back into his chair, he said:

"Alice, nothing will come from waiting there."

She looked at him with knowing eyes. "I know."

But there was nothing she could do. There was no way to find Ace if he wasn't at the castle, and stumbling on him in the forests of Wonderland would be a difficult test of her luck. If the knight was avoiding her, there was nothing she could do but wait until he showed himself. Julius knew that as well, but he would try anything to relieve even the tiniest portion of her worry.

"He'll come," he said eventually, breaking the ever growing silence that invaded their conversation until it took complete control and there was nothing but silence.

Nothing was said as a response, but a million things that could have been said ran through the man's mind as he tried to search for the best words to say to her. And after a minute of silence, he concluded it would be best to say nothing at all and wait for her to say something. But Alice had nothing to say either. And so, the room fell back into the clutches of silence once again, waiting, just waiting for the right moment until it could work its way into their brains.

A bag of clocks loudly fell onto the table in the bloody, brown sack. Alice and Julius both flinched at the noise and looked up. Ace stood in his also bloodied cloak in front of his friend's desk, looking down at the man with emotionless eyes of burning crimson. He smiled knowing that neither had heard his entrance into the room, or even the brief moment when he stopped and looked at the foreigner; neither had heard him come in or stop int the middle of the room and it sent shivers down both of their spines. How was he able to sneak in unnoticed by the girl's watchful eyes and the man's keen hearing was what they were left to ponder.

The knight turned and looked at the girl sitting on a small chair and pointed to the door. "Do you want to talk?"

"If you're willing to talk."

He laughed. Yes. This was the Alice he was use to. The cheekiness in her voice, the defiance in her eyes, it was what he was use to and wanted from her; it was what he wanted to break. He wanted to break this Alice before she broke him, before she removed his mask, before she let him find his way from his forever lost path he didn't want to leave from, and it was the Alice he wanted to break before she changed him. Once he was changed, there was no going back, and the knight, for the first time in his life, wasn't quite sure if it scared him or not.

They walked out of the room, a heavy weight being left in their place and an even heavier one following them out of the room. It followed them all the way into the forest. Ace walked forward along the outlined path, his eyes carefully scanning his feet and the path he was walking on. Alice followed quietly behind him with not a word said between the two. When Ace finally stopped, it was when the path suddenly cut off into a small, circular cleaning. He walked passed two trees and pulled out a small log and dragged it into the middle of the clearing. He went back and did the same with another log of about the same length, this time putting the log parallel of the original. The knight sat down on the first one, taking off his cloak and proceeding to rest his arms on his knees, bowing his head slightly to the ground, his brown hair falling over his face like a curtain.

"You can sit down."

The foreigner was still standing at the end of the marked path. She slowly walked over and sat on the log. She sat just as she had when she was at Julius', prim and proper, just like a real lady. The idea itself when applied to her, however, was a completely impossible idea. She wasn't a lady and she knew it. Far from it was more like it, she thought in the quietness of the forest.

Ace still remained in the same position as before, but he raised his head to look at the girl, the drapes that covered his eyes moving slightly to reveal one eye of emotionless crimson. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

She stood up. Her eyes were closed.

Alice opened them.  
>Her once swirled eyes of mixed emotions were now a blinding azure—a firm and non-changing color, a color that will stand its ground when challenged. She walked over to the knight, who by now had caught onto her changed demeanor, and was sitting up straight weary of her actions. He did nothing as she walked, each step screaming into the quietness of the forest, making but a small dent that would be fixed in only a few seconds. She stopped when she was in front of the man. Alice looked down at him. She reached her hand out and grabbed onto his jacket and starred him straight in the eyes. He couldn't keep his eyes emotionless anymore. They were filled with wonder and excitement.<p>

What will you do, Alice? The words remained unspoken as they swirled about in his mind.

.

"**Maybe you're right, Ace." **

.

The foreigner smiled at the knight's questionable look at her response, so she continued knowing that she was in complete control of this conversation for once. "Maybe you are right. Maybe I did change everyone, maybe I did want the attention, maybe I am native and ignorant, and maybe all I do talk about is Julius. But out of all those things I only think about you." She stopped and took a breath before continuing. "I only think about you," she repeated again. "I want your attention; I want you."

.

"**That's not going to happen, Alice."**

.

"And I think it will. Maybe not now, but it will happen."

Alice tightened her grip on the man's jacket. She was done with his jokes and games. This time she would prove him wrong. She lifted her hand and raised it high into the air, then she dropped it with as much force as she could. When it landed on his face, she silently squeaked at the stinging pain left on her hand. The man's face was pushed to the side and stung with a strange feeling he could only get from Alice. He curled his lips into a smile at the picture of the red hand print that must have been plastered a bright red onto his face in the shape of the girl's hand print. Then she pulled him forward towards her. She moved in and place her lips on his. Her tender, peach flesh gently pushed against his own rough, course lips and she liked it; he liked it, too. They kept that position for only a few moments before she pulled back, the knight tempted to pull her back in for another kiss, longer this time. He was stopped mid-thought when he seen her face, which was nothing but red from the tips of her hair to the backs of her ears. He laughed. This was okay too.

She looked to him. "I'm not a child anymore. Get it right. And I'm not a pay thing either." She turned toward the marked path and walked away. The foreigner didn't look back once as she made her way down the marked path and back to the comfort of Julius.

Ace laughed as he leaned back against the log, placing a finger on his lips where she had kissed him just moments ago. "Maybe I was wrong, Alice," he laughed in amusement. "You _are _a woman, but you'll always be my plaything."

-The End-


End file.
